Norwalk CT Rapper FNX: Changing The Culture of Hip Hop (Norwalk Hour, December 15, 2016))

Photo by Alex Von Kleydorff, Hearst Connecticut Media

Written by Kaitlyn Krasselt
Reprinted from the Norwalk Hour, December 15, 2016


[NORWALK] Kenneth Shuler’s story isn’t unusual.

He grew up in South Norwalk, a child of a broken home and a family in poverty. Depression, homelessness, domestic violence and abuse in the shelter system are all issues that have shaped his life.

Rather than fall into an endless cycle, he’s breaking the mold and building a career in music, telling a story and giving back to the community that shaped him into the artist he is today.

But the story isn’t about him, he said. It’s about everyone who’s ever dealt with those same issues. 

Photo by Alex Von Kleydorff, Hearst Connecticut Media

“My life story is very similar to a lot of people who battle class and race issues,” Shuler said. “I had a brief stay in the shelter, I grew up around mental illness and domestic violence, I slept on the floor of the pentecostal church in high school. And despite those dynamics, I can tell my story and it’s one that people like me are going through.”

Shuler released his debut hip-hop album under the moniker FNX (pronounced phoenix) on Black Friday. But he isn't selling it. Produced by Norwalk’s Factory Underground, Shuler is giving away the 17-track album for free, asking instead that fans donate the money they would have spent to a GoFundMe page he plans to use to feed hungry families in Fairfield County. [see follow up story in the Norwalk Hour, December 26, 2016 for results of the campaign].

Shuler credits his ability to break out of his family's predetermined path of poverty to Norwalk’s George Washington Carver Center, an organization he says kept him off the streets and in school. After graduating from Brian McMahon High School in 2003, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern Connecticut, and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire. 

Photo by Alex Von Kleydorff, Hearst Connecticut Media

In June 2016, Shuler hosted the first Hometown Love Initiative event in conjunction with Factory Underground and the Carver Center. The event featured a barbecue, basketball tournament and food drive, drawing alumni and community members for an event so successful they’re already planning to duplicate it next year. [The event raised 600 non-perishable food items that were donated to Person-to-Person Food Bank of Norwalk.]

“[Carver] gave me a platform to give back to my hometown,” Shuler said.

Marc Alan, director of marketing for Factory Underground, said the Norwalk-based recording studio is always looking for ways to get involved in the community. And, having built a relationship with Shuler since he started recording there five years ago, the Factory became the perfect partner for Shuler’s initiatives.

“We love being involved in things to help people,” Alan said. “And FNX is great. With hip-hop, people expect a negative connotation, and it can be hard to convince people it’s not that, but he keeps bringing positive attention to the culture and we really support that.”

Read the full article in the Norwalk Hour. 

Free Download of "DJ Juelz Presents: FNX Music Volume 1" 

FNX RELEASES FULL LENGTH MIX TAPE: "DJ JUELZ PRESENTS: FNX MUSIC VOLUME 1" ON BLACK FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25; ARTIST DEDICATES MUSIC TO HELP FEED UNDER SERVED FAMILIES IN NORWALK CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY.

The decision FNX made to release his debut hip hop mix tape on Black Friday was not without a touch of irony- the Norwalk, CT rapper has decided that he will not be selling his album at all. Instead he will be using his debut album to raise awareness for a very personal cause: feeding hungry families in the community.

Along with his new album, "DJ JUELZ PRESENTS: FNX MUSIC VOL 1," the artist launched a crowd funding campaign on Black Friday to request donations to his cause, in exchange for giving away his music as a free download. The goal of this campaign is simple: to raise as as much money as possible to purchase holiday groceries for struggling families in his community. The artist will work with local charities including the Person to Person Food Bank of Norwalk, CT to select these deserving families.

"I remember times when I was growing up where we didn't always know where our next meal was coming from," he said. "I remember picking up boxes of food from my church and community center- it was always like "Thank God good people are out there for us." 

"It saddens me that things haven't changed that much - one in six children in the state of Connecticut still don't know where their next hot meal is coming from. I've always wanted to give back, and for my music to make a difference in people's lives," said FNX, whose real name is Kenneth Shuler.

Growing up in poverty is one of the hard topics that FNX raps about that has attracted him a loyal fan base, attracted as much to his message as to his music. The artist has also tackled such topics depression, sexual and domestic abuse, and somehow finds a way to give the listener hope. In his new song, "Barely Made it Through," FNX tells his fans that if "I made it through, you can make it too." 

The FNX story is one of hardships, but it's also one of salvation, and the artist is quick to give credit where it's due. The Carver Center, run by the George Washington Carver Foundation of Norwalk, CT is the local community center he credits for keeping him in school, and focused on education. All of this hard work was not without reward- he went on to achieve a Bachelor's Degree in Business from the University of Southern Connecticut, and a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of New Hampshire. When he is not rapping, he also teaches a course in financial literacy, yet another layer of the FNX mission. 

It was at the Carver Center where FNX launched his first philanthropic event he titled after one of his songs, "Hometown Love." The event which he co-produced with Factory Underground Records, consisted of a barbecue, basketball tournament and canned food drive. The event raised 600 canned and non-perishable food items which were donated to Person to Person. "Hometown Love" is planned to be an annual spring event for his beloved Norwalk community.

FNX GO FUND ME CAMPAIGN TO FEED HUNGRY FAMILIES:
https://www.gofundme.com/fnxholidayfooddrive

FNX FREE DOWNLOAD OF MIX TAPE: DJ JUELZ PRESENTS: FNX MUSIC VOLUME 1:
http://www.datpiff.com/FnxMusic-Fnx-Music-Vol-1-mixtape.814796.html